A Kansas nurse's first step with UL Lafayette: settle the DNP listing
UL Lafayette's state authorization page gives Kansas two answers on the DNP: the program list leaves Kansas out, while the state-by-state section places the DNP under Kansas. Settle that with UL Lafayette before you apply. The FNP, PMHNP and PMHNP certificate list Kansas as a state they are not taking.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UL Lafayette program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UL Lafayette course.
Two readings of one authorization page
The state authorization page is where UL Lafayette says who may enroll from where. For Kansas it disagrees with itself on the doctorate, so the table names both readings as the page stood in September 2026.
| Program | Kansas status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Post-MSN DNP | Missing from the program list; present in the state-by-state section | A conflict only UL Lafayette can resolve |
| MSN FNP and MSN PMHNP | Not accepting (no determination made) | Clinicals are in Louisiana on a Louisiana RN license |
| PMHNP Post-Master's Certificate | Not accepting | Also needs a Louisiana APRN license |
| MSN in Nursing Education | Not among its eight states | Kansas does not appear on that list |
Kansas shares the program-list gap with Maryland, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming. Write to UL Lafayette's online programs office and the DNP Coordinator, and keep their reply on file before a May 1 application.
KSBN looks at outside APRN programs when graduates apply
Kansas nursing licenses are issued by its State Board of Nursing, KSBN. The state joined the multistate compact effective July 2019, has left the APRN Compact unadopted, and lands in AANP's full practice column.
By KSBN's account, a Kansan can enroll in an online APRN program headquartered in another state without that program first getting formal approval from the board. Its scrutiny arrives afterward, when a graduate of that program applies to become a Kansas APRN.
At that point KSBN confirms 45-plus credit hours and national accreditation, at least three credit hours for every one of the advanced core courses (pharmacology, pathophysiology, health assessment), plus role-specialty clinical hours numbering at least 500 with admission before March 1, 2025, or 750 with admission after it. That review is built for new APRNs, so it bears on NP programs far more than on a doctorate earned by someone already licensed.
Kansas rules for a clinical inside the state
What KSBN's guidance sets for APRN clinicals
- K.A.R. 60-17-104 is the rule KSBN cites: an APRN student's preceptor gets oriented, signs an agreement and ideally practices under a Kansas APRN license in the same role the student is pursuing. Clinically supervising APRN students requires Kansas APRN licensure.
- K.S.A. 65-1124 covers the student's own standing: a learner in advanced practice nursing who works on an RN license valid in Kansas, either Kansas-only or multistate.
- Online instructors can teach Kansans without holding Kansas licensure. Kansas does not require faculty to visit clinical sites, and a faculty member who visits anyway comes in only as a visitor, the same as any layperson.
That guidance is written for APRN students, and how it maps onto a doctoral residency by a practicing NP is not spelled out. Research never looked for UL Lafayette on a Kansas list, so KSBN and the DNP Coordinator are the people to ask how a Kansas residency would be treated.
Health care across Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka and Manhattan
The state's biggest metro is shared with Missouri, and more than 900,000 of Kansas City's residents live on the Kansas side. Wichita, Topeka and Manhattan follow. Ascension Via Christi counts among the larger providers, alongside The University of Kansas Health System, Wesley Healthcare (run by HCA in Wichita) and Stormont Vail Health; they are listed as context, not as places connected to UL Lafayette. Research turned up no Kansas preceptor incentive.
What the DNP would look like from Kansas
If UL Lafayette confirms Kansas, the post-MSN DNP runs 39 credits with a Fall start. Its residency splits 420 clock hours as 120, 180 and 120 (NURS 821, NURS 822, NURS 823), feeds a post-baccalaureate total of 1,000 hours, and may be done at home in Kansas or in Louisiana, inside your specialty. An approved mentor from your project agency joins the Synthesis Project committee, and Lafayette sees you twice: the DNP Orientation Intensive to open and the project presentation to close. See the DNP guide and residency guide.
Kansas APRN licenses verified up front
Whatever role UL Lafayette ends up having in your placement, once Kansas is confirmed for you we find a Kansas or Louisiana site and a mentor that meet its rules. We match each candidate's Kansas APRN license and role to KSBN's guidance, gather the site's details into one complete packet for faculty, and keep a second site in reserve. Send us your questions.
Questions UL Lafayette students ask
Can a Kansas nurse practitioner apply to UL Lafayette's online DNP?
Possibly, but check first. The DNP's program list omits Kansas, while the state-by-state section on the same page includes the DNP for Kansas. Only UL Lafayette can say which is current, so contact its online programs office and the DNP Coordinator and get the answer in writing before May 1.
Can I take UL Lafayette's FNP while living in Kansas?
Not at present. UL Lafayette has not determined whether its three NP tracks meet Kansas's educational requirements, so it is not taking Kansans into them, and their clinical hours all fall in Louisiana anyway. A Kansas multistate RN license fits the catalog's wording, but the online MSN page adds a demand for proof of Louisiana residency.
Does KSBN have to approve UL Lafayette?
Not before you enroll, by KSBN's description. The board's look at an out-of-state online APRN program comes only when a graduate asks Kansas for APRN licensure. Research did not check UL Lafayette's standing with KSBN, so put the handling of a Kansas doctoral residency to the DNP Coordinator and to the board.
Who can mentor a DNP residency in Kansas?
On UL Lafayette's side, your project agency supplies a mentor who must be approved. KSBN's APRN clinical guidance expects the preceptor to be oriented and to sign an agreement, and it prefers Kansas APRN licensure in the student's role. Your placement advisor checks those points before proposing anyone.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UL Lafayette's 2026-27 catalog, its online program and state authorization pages, the ICMSN student handbook and Louisiana's nursing rules. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether UL Lafayette helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your UL Lafayette program, the practicum coming up and the Louisiana town you train near. We look for preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather the license, CV and agency details that must be on file before your first clinical day.
- Preceptors who meet Louisiana's rules: an active Louisiana license, most hours with an APRN in your population focus
- The preceptor's CV, the agency details and your letter of agreement items gathered early
- Across Acadiana and the rest of Louisiana, plus DNP residencies in your home state
Start your placement plan
Your program, your town and your next clinical semester is all we need to begin.